Solving the Rodrigo mystery remained one of Marcelo Bielsa’s outstanding tasks when he was sacked at Leeds United, so it’s no surprise Jesse Marsch has the same problem to address.
The most expensive footballer in the club’s history burned brightly as a striker in the latter weeks of last season, but generally, since his arrival, injury and tactical issues have plagued his consistency.
Rodrigo was originally signed as a striker to compete with Patrick Bamford, but the latter’s form and the former’s versatility saw Bielsa play him mainly as an attacking central midfielder.
He played behind Daniel James on Thursday night in the Aston Villa loss with arguably his worst display in a Whites shirt.
On a night where he persistently miscontrolled the ball, misplaced passes, slowed down attacks and passed backwards, Rodrigo was rightly hooked at half-time.
“Yeah, I thought it wasn't his best performance,” said Marsch.
With less than three days between games for Leeds, the head coach must now find a way to get the best out of Rodrigo or arguably take him out of the firing line for one of the biggest matches in years.
“I like him a lot,” said Marsch. “I like his character. I like the type of player he is. I had asked him to play a little bit more like a striker.
“I know he likes playing a little bit like an underneath 10 and I've tried to get him to embrace the different things we want to get from him.
“He's such a good young man and I know we will need him as we continue to move forward and I just have to figure out the best ways to use him and then, also, how to help him understand how to fit into the tactics of what we're doing.”
